On Thursday this week I had my banking issues resolved which allowed me a small window to visit my mother who is not well in England. Last night I booked the flights, hotels and car hire and we leave this evening returning back on the 26th. The time pressure is mainly down to Black Friday which is the 28th so we all need to be helping out as this is a crazy period for work. If last year is anything to go by we had hundreds of orders going out daily and it can last up to about 1 week after the 28th. Our customers also need replenishing and this is basically the start of the festive season.
Just yesterday we received 6 containers and two this morning in preparation for the Black Friday sales. Arriving back on the 26th is basically the last day as even then it will be arriving back at the airport and instead of going home we will be heading directly to the office. Being a small operation the more hands we have makes life easier sharing the work load.
The bank having created the problems has not helped matters and I am just happy the trip can happen as seeing my mother is what is important right now. There is no price on family and I have to do what I have to do and expect I will be travelling early next year again.
The upside is the trip is not costing too much and if we travelled in the middle of December the prices would have doubled due to the peak period with the tourists and the Christmas festive period. I do not like crowded flights as it does not give you the opportunity to swap seats and hoping the flight is not full. The emergency seat option was not available so it could be an uncomfortable flight. I do not like flying at the best of times and knowing there is 10 hours of having an aching back and numb backside is the joys of travelling economy.
Travelling now will also give us a chance to get some Christmas present shopping done for the grand kids. This by no means is a fun trip and in truth I am dreading this and would welcome some shopping to create a distraction. The last trip I backed on the Algarve trip so I could take a break and gather my thoughts as seeing a loved one slowly dying is not pleasant. This trip I expect to be worse than the last trip mainly as you will notice the deterioration. MND has to be the cruelest disease anyone can have and the family feels this as well as they live through the horror.
For those that do not know what this is your body basically shuts down in stages starting with your legs then your arms and then slowly the internal organs. This takes on average 22 months and why regular visits are advised as you just do not know how long anyone has. Depressing and is difficult to come to terms with and why we need to live full lives whilst we can. I thought this disease was rare as I have only heard of a few people having this, but apparently this is on the rise today.
Finding a care home was more difficult than expected as most care homes advertise they accept MND patients which they do not necessary. They receive more government funding for offering these services so saying they do and actually doing it are two different things entirely.